Sunday, April 20, 2014

KUNAL DESHMUKH: (WITH) THE LOINS OF PUNs & JABs..!!!

Oh dear! Excuse the typo error. I meant the Lions of Punjab since I am personally & always immensely impressed with men of courage, wisdom and vision. Somehow my title went into sounding into an innuendo.  I will choose the liberty of thinking that perhaps those with a sense of humour would enjoy this inconsequential comedy of errors!

Infact, I do think that I posses a rather healthy and liberal sense of humour. What is life without a hearty laugh and comical twists of absurd yet funny incidents? Pick up the newspaper and it will tickle your mind with some of the most bizarre & fantastical stories you will ever hear or read. I must say our new breed of journalists have learnt to grow a funny bone and have taught us the same. Interestingly our new age news makers don’t fail to amuse and entertain either.

Recently, I read an article about Kunal Deshmukh’s aspirational directorial piece which he is calling Raja Natwarlal, so sadly, based on his ill-informed references of a major business tycoon, Mr.Subrata Roy Sahara, who is currently in a legal turmoil with the SEBI. For those who haven’t heard of Kunal Deshmukh I am not surprised. He is a dot in the massive Entertainment industry with his directorial ventures mostly revolving around Love, Sex and Drama. What is really baffling and worth mentioning is the ignorance that Deshmukh displays. I mean come on! A new age, educated 32 year old, metro-sexual man with such a horrible grasp on current affairs? Where on earth did he learn that Subrata Roy’s business dealt with chit funds? Who on earth told him that he is in a legal turmoil because of some non-existent property scam?  Mr.Deshmukh when you plan to enlighten us with your vision (I’d love to call them nightmares) and creative non-genius, atleast get your facts correct! So much for a spin with so few, rather, zero hard facts! Your statement only projects a pathetic attempt to exhibition your inspiration as “more 'shocking' and 'in-depth' than your last one” & your dumbness is both laughable and pitiable.

And there goes my hunger for a good laugh, fed. LOLs, ROTL..!!! Feed people only trivia and entertainment, you will wither their appetite & feed them nonsense, you will surely food poison them! I wouldn’t get into the elaborate details of what the SAHARA SEBI issue is about but in a gist it’s been revolving around SEBI’s conceited claim over investor protection arguing that Sahara’s business practices are unhealthy and harm the depositors. Sahara is an enormously diversified Indian conglomerate employing around 12 lacs employees with business interests in Motion Pictures, Hospitality, Para-banking (Mr.Deshmukh! you must, especially, Google Parabanking before you ignorantly ramble some mumbo jumbo about the subject and embarrass yourself further..!!!!), Retail, etc. Sahara has never been in the business of Chit funds and most certainly never in Lotteries either.

When someone like a Kunal Deshmukh makes such juvenile, foolish, ill informed statements, it’s scary!!! He comes from bracket of an industry that moulds impressions. So the least you expect from him is sound and good research on his subject of inspiration. Just making appearances match, doesn’t do the job. And if you are ill- informed on the subject then admit so. Saves you the embarrassment! Has he ever interviewed Mr.Subrata Roy? Has he reached out to his family for his research or spoken with his employees, ever? Has he ever made any intelligent enquiry about his businesses, as a part of his study? I assuming the answer is, No! What is even more amusing is what the journalist, Ms. Priya Gupta, finds interesting about the similarities. Being a journalist, I thought she knew the undertones of the Sahara SEBI issue and would have utilised the opportunity to dispel some myths about the matter.  She could have very easily burst Mr.Deshmukh’s bubble and conducted some responsible reporting.

G.K. Chesterton once said, “Journalism largely consists in saying "Lord Jones is dead" to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive.” Ms.Gupta, i thought you had more substance in you than taking a jab at a man who is much more seasoned than you are, experienced more life than you ever will, struggled his way up to accomplishments and fathers an army of loyal, hard working & honest workforce. Lead these many men; first, in your lifetime tell and then us what you found interesting about that. Likewise for you Mr.Deshmukh! Your Goliath emerges to lack any soul or intensity. Your statements in Media are imbecile and your knowledge of the subject is appalling. You sure you haven’t mixed David for Goliath? Or perhaps in your fit of ignorance you’ve drawn an incorrect analogy. You should probably draw the parallel with IGNORAMUS & STUPIDUS!! I already feel bad for myself for having apologised for my accidental innuendo, in the beginning. Mr.Deshmukh hasn’t even offered his! I knew he was ignorant and ill read, what I didn’t know was that he lacked mannerisms, too.


My commiserations to your nightmare “Raja Natwarlal”, Sir and my LOLs and ROTLs too!!! Also, please accept my loaded statements with puns and jabs at your intelligence, with no prospect of an apology!


With prayers for you in my heart,

A concerned Samaritan!!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Sahara Sebi - Imagine

Sahara VS Sebi
Sahara VS Sebi
Let’s Imagine! Imagine Charlie Chaplin not being the legendary comedian that he was. Or Arnold Swarzeneger not the action icon we all know him as. Imagine Sachin Tendulkar not being the celebrated cricketer but a regular 9 to 5 school teacher or if electricity was never invented. What would it be like if Newton had never discovered the Law of Gravity or Einstein had not made those elaborate inventions? What if Elvis continued driving trucks or Satyajit Ray wasn’t an illustrious story teller? Difficult and rather unfamiliar and absurd hypothesis! Would these people be still famous, brilliant and celebrated if they were not in their chosen professions? What would have our lives been like in the absence of these people or their world changing contributions to humanity? The answer can only be left to one’s imagination and with no certainty can anyone claim that they be who they are today or what would our existence been like, if these men were not true to their calling.

Now for a moment, let’s imagine a bit further. Would Sahara India have avoided the existential crisis, they are in today, had they not chosen to provide a sound, secure & lawful financial structure to a stratum of the society who has always stood ignored amongst the tall claims of social and economic development? What would the lives and future of these millions of depositors would have been like if they didn’t have a secure medium to invest and save and flourish? What would the future of the children growing in these millions of households have hold? Would they be educated? Would there be employment for the unemployed or the less skilled or the poor? Would there have been economic empowerment for the have nots who do not have the means or the sanction to even hold a bank account or a legitimate Id? Would the chief of Sahara India, Subrata Roy, have saved himself the witch hunt by a National Regulator or avoided jail had he chosen to create a lush empire and focused on serving himself rather than serving the people? Such a swarm of hypotheticals starting with just one simple question, “Imagine?”

Sadly, there are no simple answers. Only simple questions. The answers are complex, unfathomable and lead down to a road of nefarious possible motives, juxtapositions & outcomes. SEBI’s motives juxtaposed with the Court’s senseless brickbat blows on the Sahara Chief only adds insult to the common man’s understanding of productive regulation and fair justice. Even more dangerously, the imagination of SEBI and the Courts have taken a turn for the worse and seem to be more heavily invested in feeding their own egos, their illogic and mindless banter rather than using that imagination to serve and secure.

Currently, SEBI has been claiming that investor accounts provided by Sahara are fictitious and the regulator’s independent verification has failed to make any headway. SEBI so far has been able to repay less than 1 crore rupees to OFCD investors even though its been 18 months since Sahara deposited 5,120 crore rupees with the market watchdog. Interestingly, in 2008, Sahara had paid back around 4 crore depositors under strict supervision of Reserve Bank of India. The central bank, then, did not stumble upon any such fictitious account and the OFCD issue had almost same set of investors. So is SEBI imagining these investors as fictitious or is it disguising its incompetence. To further add to the comedy of errors, the Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure over SEBI’s tardy pace in verifying these investor accounts in Sahara’s OFCD issue. I can only imagine the embarrassment the courts must be facing at the hands of the regulator’s malfunction. And who is paying the price for all this mockery. The innocent, the lawful and the poor!

Let’s tax our imagination one more time and explore another set premise. What if Sahara is innocent? What if the Sahara supremo is being wrongfully accused and punished? Is SEBI acting in the best interest of the depositors or is it blinded by its punitive sense of dominion? What would it be like if SEBI realized and acknowledged that these investors in question are for real? What would it be like if there was no Sahara to begin with? Are these questions that have real and heavy implications or are they just plain rhetoric?

The answers can only be left to unfold as time and events pass by. The outcomes would be real and the consequences can either set unhealthy & dire precedents or can pave way to a truthful, mindful and fair premise. Just IMAGINE..!!!

Source: http://www.latestechie.com/blog/sahara-sebi-imagine

Friday, April 11, 2014

MEDIA STATEMENT - Honourable Asot Michael M.P.

MEDIA STATEMENT

“On Thursday, April 3, 2014 several persons and I exercised our constitutional and democratic rights to attend a public rally, organized by the United Progressive Party (UPP) in Fort Road.

“There are many other Parliamentarians to include Messrs Harold Lovell and Chandlah Codrington who have both, in the past, attended Labour Party public rallies. We always welcomed them because we believe that there was much to learn from our speakers. The UPP parliamentarians on the other hand have failed to demonstrate this level of maturity and are now motivated by fear and anger over the superior support of the Antigua & Barbuda Labour Party.

“Mr. Lovell, in particular, having been told that the pollsters show Melford Nicholas leading him in popular support, seemed as though he wanted an excuse to start a riot. In fact, it was Mr. Lovell who sought to incite violence out of jealousy after observing the UPP supporters open embrace for me.”

This was the response of Comrade Asot Michael in an interview with a news reporter, following his appearance at a UPP (United Progressive Party) rally in City East on Thursday night, April 3 2014.

Mr. Harold Lovell, who was at the time speaking on the UPP microphone, attempted to encourage the attendees at the rally to boo him. Instead, the crowd seemed rather enthralled by Hon. Asot Michael and had no interest in the false promises and lies that Lovell was making at the time.

The St. Peter’s Representative stood unperturbed by the unmanly behaviour of the City East Representative, Mr. Harold Lovell, and peacefully returned to his vehicle after hearing more of Mr. Lovell’s lies and false promises.

Mr. Michael also noted that the City East communities have deteriorated, since 2004, with roads filled with potholes and high unemployment especially among the constituency’s youth.

Asot Michael - The Political Profile

Every now and then, the political landscape in our island democracies is visited by a rare breed of politician who epitomizes the spirit of service above self, who devotedly places his possessions at the disposal of those in need, who “walks with kings but never loses the common touch”, and who gets things done by “keeping his head about him” even as others are “losing theirs and blaming it on him”. Honourable Asot Michael has come up with the AntiCorruption mission to deal with the corrupt govet officials from all over the country.

Since March 2004, the blessing of that extraordinary brand of political representation has been in the hands of the people of the St Peter’s constituency.

“I give thanks and praise for my beloved constituents with whom I have been privileged to develop a personal bond built on a solid foundation of love and mutual respect for each other that transcends narrow, partisan politics”.

In all he does in politics and government, Asot Michael operates with a passion for excellence, a hunger for results and an uncommon love for people, their well being and progress.

“I have always been that way… Politics has always been in my blood I grew up in a family where my parents and grandparents were always looking out for people and wanting to see them succeed as well as they could. My father Patrick Michael sacrificed his business in support of the ALP during its darkest days in the 1970’s. And the Michael generation before him was even more involved in the socio-political life of Antigua and Barbuda.

“So I guess as far as it concerns politics and working with people, I have just been living the values I picked up from my family… Then there were all the valuable little lessons I learned from some of the best politicians in Antigua and Barbuda like Papa VC Bird, Lester Bird and Tim Hector. But I think the most important thing is that I really enjoy what I do…”

Indeed, to see him leading a convoy of trucks through every street in the constituency personally delivering Christmas and New Year goodies to every family is to be up close with a politician in peace and harmony with his purpose.

And when he rises in Parliament to articulate concerns about the good and just governance of Antigua and Barbuda, it is crystal clear that the darling of St Peter’s is not just in tune with his people development mission but also destined to ensure it succeeds.

“The people of this country know that they were better off under the ALP and it is their money the UPP has recklessly taxed out of them to create the UPP version of heaven on earth – the fattening of big government from the sweat and toil of poor people

“So the people who came first with Labour have actually ended up last under the UPP and we have to change that… We have to return to the good old days of people doing well instead of catching hell”.

As a Minister of Government he demonstrated critical competencies and emerged as one of the most successful government negotiators on major investment projects and assistance programmes. With his excellent people skills he was able to build a valuable network of political and business leaders from around the world which remains a reliable resource for translating global contacts into advantages for Antigua and Barbuda.

Apart from the simple truth that he is a caring, down-to-earth people’s person, his rapidly growing army of fans around Antigua and Barbuda admires the fact that Asot has distinguished himself as a man who gets the job done in the public interest regardless of the difficulties encountered in the process.

Others make excuses, Asot makes it happen. Added to that, since people will always place their trust and confidence in those who commit themselves and their own resources, and work hard with sincerity of purpose for the greater good, there is really no electoral challenge to fear:

“Actually, I anxiously look ahead to the upcoming general election when the people of Pares, Parham Town, Vernon’s, Gunthropes, Lindsay, Paynters and Fitches Creek will give the failed candidacy of Joanne Massiah the rejection it deserves

“For more than four years, the sidewalks were over grown; there were Cassie trees to be cut in Paynters East; street lights were needed; open sewerage was running from the bath rooms on the Basketball Court in Parham; there were no lights on the court – they even wickedly cut the electricity on the courts in Pares and Parham; the roads were in total disrepair; and the UPP Candidate was conspicuously missing in action

“The people of the constituency were mercilessly victimized left, right and centre… They were the first to be sent home from Public Works and the Antigua Port Authority… and Candidate Massiah was nowhere to be found in the constituency…

“Today, she is all over trying to catch votes. But Miss Massiah can rest assured that the people of the St Peters Constituency will never forget the wicked victimization that the UPP administration meted out to them for voting their labour party candidate to represent them in Parliament”.

One of Asot’s main strengths as a politician is his proven ability to define and articulate the next level of advancement for the people he represents. Accordingly, and given the UPP engineered reversals in the welfare of the people since 2004, he is knows better than anyone else there is tremendous work to be done.

Under the incumbent’s leadership, this constituency has led the way in recent years in privately funded facilities for sports, recreation, computer technology and food delivery. Asot has also been exemplary in using his own personal resources in the causes of less burdensome cost of living, proper infrastructure, crime reduction, adequate health care and education throughout the constituency.

His vision is fundamentally about economic transformation capable of generating the opportunities that will allow constituents to do better for themselves, their families and their loved-ones

Modernization of the physical landscape (residential and commercial properties, infrastructure) throughout the constituency.
Establishment of a proper foundation for investments in the tourism of the future, particularly in the emerging residential tourism niche market to create a platform for lasting economic and employment opportunities.
Establishment of model eco villages/communities utilizing renewable energy as a tourist attraction and as an example of the future direction for Antigua and Barbuda and the rest of the region.
The ALP’s candidate for St Peter’s is anxious to move ahead with the party’s plan to modernize local government across Antigua and Barbuda through the creation and introduction of high performance community committees/councils working in collaboration with the Parliamentary Representative to discharge the day to day responsibilities of constituency development.

The principal target areas for the work of the community committees/councils will be economic and business opportunities, safety and security, infrastructure, human development and social affairs.

As Asot humbly seeks the support of the People of St Peter’s for a second term as their Parliamentary Representative, there can be no doubt about the high esteem in which his genuine love for people and his outstanding record of service are held across Antigua and Barbuda.

He has some advice, especially for those who will hear about the UPP plan to buy votes with the promise of economic relief:

Take all the relief

But remember the grief



Whatever you get

Was taken from your pocket



They didn’t send you to school

But they played you for a fool



So welcome the tax break

But remember the heart ache



And say never again

To the UPP tax pain



And just so they know what you are about

When election comes, eat dem out

Drink dem out

And vote dem to hell out

Monday, April 7, 2014

Dangote, Zenith Bank, Quits Aviation to Invest in Kenya

Dangote Cement, Zenith Banks Plc, and Quits Aviation along with its global partner, Execujet, have expressed their desire to invest in Kenya. This emerged at the weekend during President Goodluck Jonathan’s three-day visit to the East African country.

During an investment forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, the three companies pledged their commitment to invest in the Kenyan economy through their chief executive officers.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, who was on the president's entourage, was said to have committed $400 million (N64 billion) to build a cement factory in the East African country.

Also, the founder of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia, who was also a member of the entourage, promised that his bank would establish its presence in Kenya.

The Chairman/CEO of Quits Aviation and Execujet, Mr. Sam Iwuajoku which runs a private hangar and Fixed Based Operation (FBO) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, also stated that it was committed to establishing an aircraft hangar and FBO services to cater to business jet in the East African region.
Iwuajoku was also part of the president's delegation to the East African country.

Quits Aviation and Execujet provide aircraft maintenance and FBO services which entail cleaning the aircraft, fuelling, route planning and dispatching, full passenger and crew handling, as well as a complete concierge service.

The collaboration with Execujet would enable Quits Aviation to get the nod of the manufactures of business jets such as Bombadier, Hawker Beechcraft and Dassault have centres for the service of their aircraft in Kenya.

Speaking at the forum, which was jointly presided over by President Jonathan and his Kenyan counterpart, President Uhuru Kenyatta, Dangote, who served as the Chairman, Dialogue Group, reiterated the need for Africans to look inwards for partnership in trade and investments.

He decried the situation where intra-trade on the continent was below 12 per cent and decided to use the Nigerian-Kenya initiative as a model in Africa.

At the investment forum, which was attended by about 500 investors from Nigeria and Kenya, the billionaire business mogul thanked both Jonathan and Kenyatta for creating the window of opportunity for the business community to interact on ways to improve trade between both countries.

He said Kenya would assist Nigeria in boosting a sector where it had comparative advantages such as tourism and hospitality, horticulture, dairy, sugar and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

On the other hand, Nigeria would assist Kenya in the oil and gas sector, movie and entertainment industry, agriculture and banking sectors.

Also disclosed at the forum was the intention of a leading Indian textile manufacturing company, Bei Textile Limited. to invest in textile and garment industry in Nigeria.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed at the forum to strengthen the already existing Nigeria-Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In his remarks, President Kenyatta announced a five to 10-year visa duration for Nigerian businessmen coming to Kenya. He said the policy would ease the challenges of visa procurement and encourage investors from Nigeria to Kenya.
Confirming the development, Iwuajoju said shortly after the Kenyan president's announcement, the immigration authorities immediately granted them five-year visa as a demonstration of the country's commitment to attract investors.

Other members of Jonathan's delegation included Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Chief Edem Duke, Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Abba Moro and Chairman Senate Committee for Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodimma.

Meanwhile, Kenya has offered its 46 newly-discovered oil blocs for interested Nigerian investors in the oil and gas industry to develop.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke announced this at the weekend in Nairobi.

The minister said the offer was part of the outcome of the dialogue group preceding the investment forum.

The minister said beyond giving the opportunity to Nigerian investors to acquire the oil wells, Kenya also sought Nigeria’s assistance in the formulation of right policies and framework to manage the sector.

“It is well known now that Kenya had recently discovered hydro-carbon reserves and they are very keen to move quite aggressively in terms of exploration activities.

“They felt as sister African country, Nigeria, having many years of oil exploration and production, that it only makes sense that we exchange agreement in cooperation to hand over knowledge, capabilities and experience learnt.

“They seek various templates that we have formulated including policies, processes and a sort of templates that form Petroleum Industry Bill, among others.

“We also looked at areas surrounding Nigeria’s investments possibilities where we think that Nigerian business men and women could come into the oil and gas sector in Kenya.

The minister said among the seven MoUs and bilateral agreements signed by both countries was that on oil and gas which spelt out details of the co-operation.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

FCMB Group Plc reports N18.2bn Profit beforeTax in 2013, up 12% from Prior Year and Dividend of 30k per share

FCMB Group Plc has released its financials for the year ended December 31, 2013reporting a profit before tax (PBT) of N18.2billion, up 12% from prior year.  The group also returned to dividend payment, with proposed dividend of 30kobo/share.

The Group reported improved earnings growth in 2013, in spite of the challenging regulatory environment. Net revenue rose 16% to N84.2billion over prior year.  Successful execution of retail strategy, growth of bancassurance and FinBank merger synergies provided necessary revenue growth impetus.

The Group also reported a number of significant developments in key operating areas. In 2013, deposits grew 11% to N715 billion, aided by 21.1% growth in current and savings accounts, while fixed deposits declined during the year. Consequently, the banks funding mix has improved, with current and savings accounts now accounting for 73.9% of total deposits, which saw a reduction in the banks cost of funds during the year in spite of the fact that interest rates remained high throughout 2013.
Loans and advances also grew 26% to N451billion, retail lending, oil and gas and power sector financing were the largest contributors to this growth.  FCMB Plc’s total assets (excluding contingencies) now stand above N1trillion.
Individual and SME banking combined,now accounts for 44% of total deposits, 32% of risk assets and 19% of profits.

FCMB Limited, the banking subsidiary, continues to improve the soundness of its balance sheet and credit standing.  In the recently released 2013 financial statements, the bank exhibited abundant liquidity (liquidity ratio of 47%) and robust capitalbase (capital adequacy ratio of 18%), that protects against downside risks and supports future business growth, without immediate need for capital raising. The banking group subsidiary has also become one of the leading retail loan originators in the country. This has resulted in an increasingly diversified loan book and continually declining loan loss provisions over the last 3 years.

During the year, the UK subsidiary, FCMB (UK) Ltd, was granted approval by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) to commence deposit taking activities for businesses and corporate organization, expanding its existing stock broking and corporate finance activities.

Speaking of these results, Mr. Peter Obaseki, Managing Director of FCMB Group Plc, had this to say:

“2013 saw the Group being able to record appreciable growth in profits and resume dividend payments. Returns on average equity and average assets fell by 4.3% and 16.6%, respectively, over the 2012 full year level, as a result of higher tax.

The Group’s  non-banking subsidiaries, CSL Stockbrokers (CSLS) and FCMB Capital Markets (FCMB CM), while contributing only 2% of group profits, not only enabled the bank grow its customer wallet share, but also won new customers through advisory services that eventually led to transaction banking relationships. These businesses also consolidated their market positions.  CSLS maintained its position as third largest broker, whilst increasing its market share. CSLS also saw a 100% growth in volumes traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Key highlights from FCMB CM’s year included deal flows of approximately N378 billion and net operating earnings growth of 206%, enabled by project and structured finance advisory and arrangement activities. FCMB CM also actively participated in buy-side advisory and capital-raising mandates in the Power sector’s privatisation and acted as the sole local advisor on the first Greenfield International Power Producer project financing, under the new tariff regime. The Euromoney award for ‘Project Finance Deal of the Year’ signified the end of a productive year for the company.”

Mr. Ladi Balogun, Group Managing Director/ CEO of FCMB Ltd, commented on the results thus:

“Inspite of the challenging regulatory environment which moderated profit growth, 2013 saw our commercial and retail banking activities benefit greatly from the merger that was concluded in 2012. Specifically, the improved liquidity profile of the bank provided an adequate buffer against the cash reserve withdrawals, and the enlarged branch network enabled us to achieve over 66% growth in retail loans, 22% growth in current and savings account balances and acquire over 400,000 new customers.

Cost of risk is also trending steadily downwards at 1.2% of total loans, whilst the net interest margin trend of 22% improvement indicates the effectiveness of the retail strategy we are pursuing.

Our focus in 2014 will be to improve operating efficiency by sweating the acquired branches, consolidating our leadership position in retail lending, whilst also growing corporate and commercial banking volumes in strategic sectors of the economy.”

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Asot Michael – The Anti-Corruption Mission

Corruption is found in the government when instead of thinking about the interests of the citizens as a whole, the members of the government are chiefly interested in promoting their own selfish interests.

Corruption is found in both public and private organizations and everyone starting from the clerk to the Managing Director of a company is corrupt in a way or the other. The clerk takes small bribes from the people who visit the office so that their work is finished early than the others who are waiting in a queue.

Parents offer bribes in schools and colleges to get their child admitted. There is no institution, no organization which is not corrupt in a way or the other.

But the question that arises is that can an anti-corruption movement be started and if yes, shall it be successful.

The answer depends largely on the adaptation of anti-corruption measures by both the government and the citizens.

This is the foundation on which the success of any anti- corruption measure will depend. Corruption is an incurable disease which all the citizens should try to combat by hook or by crook.

People should be allowed to re- elect the candidate they voted for if he fails to fulfill the promises that he made while contesting the elections. People are of the opinion that corruption is a way of life and nothing can be done to eradicate it. It is essential to understand that unless we as the citizens are not determined to do away with corruption from the roots, how we can expect the government to be corruption- free – Honorable Asot Michael

FCMB (UK) Limited commences Commercial Banking Operations in London

First City Monument Bank Limited announced it has commenced commercial banking operations at its London subsidiary, FCMB (UK) Limited, following approval by the regulatory authorities in late 2013 to begin wholesale deposit taking for businesses and corporate organisations. These activities represent an expansion of its existing stock broking and corporate finance activities, which commenced in2009.
A statement by the bank said, FCMB (UK) Limited has received approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority, the UK financial services regulator, to carry out deposit taking and commercial banking operations. This represents the next step in FCMB’s plans to further internationalise its activities in the area of commercial banking.
Mr. Ladi Balogun, the Chief Executive Officer of the UK banking subsidiary’s parent company, First City Monument Bank, said. "We are pleased to be commencing banking operations in ourUK subsidiary. This will enable us to offer a more complete service to our Nigerian customers engaged in international trade and corporate clients resident in the United Kingdom. We look forward to offering the high service standards that our customers have come to expect from us. From our FCMB (UK) base we will also establish a pan-African financing platform, with special focus on natural resources and related value chains, an area where we have already established a leadership position in Nigeria.”
He also noted that the bank would continue to enhance its UK presence to provide international investors with access to investment opportunities across the African continent. Through CSL Stockbrokers, FCMB UK currently provides coverage of the major listed companies in Nigeria together with research on economic development and investment strategy.
First City Monument Bank Limited is a full service commercial bank with a strong retail focus. It is a member of FCMB Group, a financial services group with interests in Commercial & Retail banking, Investment banking and Asset Management.